Crucify Him, crucify Him!

 

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them,  "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 

 

- Luke 23:13–25 

 

Yesterday we read that the whole multitude of those who had arrested Jesus arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another.   

 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them,  "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people.  And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and release Him" (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).  And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas" -- who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.  Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.  But they shouted, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"  Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done?  I have found no reason for death in Him.  I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."  But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified.  And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.  So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.  And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.  My study Bible notes on today's passage that three times Pilate attempts to release Jesus (verses 16, 20, 22), and three times the chief priests and the rulers incite the people to demand that Christ be put to death.  Finally, my study Bible says, they demand the release of a rebel like themselves.  Barabbas means "son of the father."  My study Bible comments that this indicates to which father these rulers belong -- the devil, as Jesus stated in John 8:44.

Time and again throughout history, humankind is witness to the actions of crowds.  We pay special attention to crowds which have been stirred up by leaders and their servants with ulterior motives.  That is, those who vie for political power, or some sort of immediate goal of an upper hand in a matter, possibly for vengeance, or to deflect guilt from themselves.  Almost always the tool at work among the crowd is some form of hatred, and instigated at least in part through deliberate lies to instigate the crowds.  All over the world, and throughout time, we are witnesses to this kind of behavior and the injustices that result.  But in this particular scene involving Jesus Christ as victim we are given the exemplary picture of manipulation and injustice, and the ease with which crowds can be stirred to support such acts.  If there is anything that should teach us about the ease with which an injustice can happen -- and in particular at the hands of a crowd -- this scene should show us that truth.  If we look at the large political movements of the 20th century, we can see the reliance on motivation of crowds, and those skilled in manipulating hysteria, fear, and outrage.  In the Gospels, the crowds are seldom if ever correct, at best they are fickle.  St. Ambrose writes, "What kind of people crucified the Lord of glory! Those that violently demand the death of an innocent man fittingly seek the release of a murderer. Wickedness has such laws as to hate innocence and love guilt. The interpretation of the name gives the likeness of the image, because Barabbas means 'son of the father.' He belongs to those to whom it is said, 'You are of your father the devil.' They were about to choose the Antichrist as son of their father, rather than the Son of God."  This scene of Christ being condemned by the crowds, in favor of Barabbas, should be forever seared in our minds as emblematic of what it means that we live in a world plagued by evil.  When we pray the prayer to Our Father, we ask to be delivered from evil.  In the original Greek, the word translated "from evil" is πονηρου/ponerou.  The base of this word is πονηρος/poneros, which gives a closer translation as "from the evil one."  The root is πονος/ponos, a word that means "evil" and its cognates such as "bad," or "wicked."   But this word also means "pain" (and is still used this way in modern Greek) or "laborious trouble, toil."  It therefore emphasizes the agony that comes with evil.  What we see in the crowd emphasizes all of these manifestations of what evil is and means:  they call for the destruction of the good, the crucifixion and pain of the innocent, and rant for injustice, the persecution of the One who has done only good.  They rally in service to lies, where even Pilate, Herod, the thief on the cross, and the centurion all recognize Christ as innocent.   Exodus 23:2 teaches, "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice."   Here in the crowds in today's reading, we see the full manifestation of such evil. There's another word we could look at in the Greek of the Gospel reading, and that is the word translated as "crowd."  There are different words in Greek to describe crowds, and this one would be more accurately translated as "mob," or "throng."  There is no order here, no discipline of justice (even for the period).  Let us remember what this looks like when the rage of crowds is manipulated to make scapegoats of the innocent among us.